Rotary steel plate printing machine



Aug. 7, 1934. P. AITCHISON ROTARY STEEL PLATE? PRINTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 15, 1932 A ATTORNEY.

Aug. 7, 1934. P. AITCHISON ROTARY STEEL PLATE PRINTING MACHINE Filed March 15, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 2-2 ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 7, 1934 ROTARY STEEL PLATE PRINTING MACHINE Peternitchison New Rochelle, N. Y., assignor to a American BankqrNote rCompany, New..York,- N. Y., a corporation. of New York Application March 15, 1932, Serial No. 598,899

18 Claims. (Cl. 101-156) My invention relatesv .130 rotary steelplate.

printing-machines,;:and more particularly to the wiping and. polishing mechanisms of suchmachines. V In machinesiused in making impressions from engraved,lintaglio ...or undersurface steel plates,

inkis applied-to thetop or non-printing surface...

of the plate-in volume in excess of that required to fill the lines .in the.pla te,-:the ink being packed.

. in these lines andthe, surplus ink removed-from the plate by what-is known .as wiping .and. polishing cloths or rags, although paper of a' special kind is now beingstegrtensively used vfor this'purpose. ii" i In Jrotarysteel: platemachines, the wiping cloths or rags in web iorm are-passed from a supply rroll'eabout platens which are spring pressedxintofl engagementewith, the. plates. In

suchpresses, twoor more .plates are usually. em:

ployed, the plates being spaced fromeach other upon the plate 'cylinderg-affording clearance betweenthei plates, during-which the platens and the: wiping rpolish-ing webs. thereon" are relieved from the pressure of the plate; to permit Lthe Ordinarilygthe fresh portion: .of thelwiping web is thefirst-to engage. aplate it having been found. by experience thatwhen.theportion of the web 13511;. act upon. theplatelis partially saturated with ink thQlGwlS less-tendency toward the. withdrawinggof inks from the .lines of the plate. During the contact of theweb with the ment, the Webstremaining stationaryin relation to the platenduringthe. entire wiping or polishj ing cperationl scribed, the tendency .of the; formation. of lines or streak-s of inlpupon the noneprinting surface.

the plate whilein engagement therewith.

In all suchmachines, the movement of the webs, longitudinally. of the cylinder and laterally. of .thelplate tends. to create conditionswhichat timesdntarfere with the propercleaning of the plate and there is also difficulty in the proper, feeding of the wiping: and polishing web,

since. this feeding is accomplishedby the actuarslack between these platens and the supply roll While these difiiculties'havebeen largely cor- .rected by the use of additional feed rollers op of the printing plate, eitherin the-same direc. advancement y'ofthe webs following eacluwiping or polishing action, so as to present. a short. length. of fresh clean web-to the succeeding plate;

a plate; theplaten. is. receiving I either .a right-line V sired pressure relation to the plates upon a plate reciprocatory,inovement .or .a four-Way move-.

. With a mechanism of the type above de-' This results-from ,the. movement of the Web transversely of the direction of travel of J tion of the rewind mechanism which drageor pulls the cloth through the machine and acrossthe various platenawhich develops considerable resistance to the movement of the cloth. The

. lateral reciprocation or four-way movement of the wiping platen also has a tendency to create erative upon the wiping web particularly, andthe use of what is known as a rag clamp to .7

prevent the creation of slack between the wipmgpads and the rewind roll, there isalways a possibility of an improper wiping action. Fur l.

thermore, with a mechanism of the type imme-m diately above referred to, it is essential that'the m plates upon the plate cylinder be spaced fromrr... f

afford a timeinterval between succeedingwip of the. web. g

machines wiping webs havebeen drawn through the machine in contact with a'considerable areas tion as the moverne'ntof theplates, or counte thereto the wiping web being placed under.::ten:

sion by various mechanisms to developizthe de-.

With the above conditions in mind, myinven .eaclrothera considerable distance in order to 1:;

.ing operations, suflicient to permit the feeding. o

I J In other types of rotary steel-p1ate-printingf tion provides a rotary steel plate printing machine embodying therein mechanisms by which a.web

of wiping material may be brought intothede-w cylinder by rotatable power driven-platens, the... wiping webs being continuously :withdrawnt-from In the machine of theinvention; the spaceloc-;.- cupied by the wiping 'rnechanism is so limited: as to permit the use, in co-operation therewith, of

a polishing mechanism-by which a polishing web: m is similarly fed to and engaged with the plate r following the movement ofthese plates from-theft 05 suiting from the varying quantity of ink in dlfferent portions thereof, avoids the "streaking-of the plates,-.and by reason of the limited contact area ofthe web betweenthe wiping rollers and theplates, there is an accumulation of thesurfac'eink of the plates at the point of each initial contact of the wiping material with the plate which tends to effectively remove the surface ink and pack the lines of the plate so as to ensure the making of more perfect imprints. This applies to the wiping webs only since as to the polishing web the amount of surface ink is so small as to limit the action to the removal of such surface ink.

In the machine of the invention, the advancement of the web through the machine results from the rotation of the platen rollers, the rewind mechanism being utilized solely to take up the slack created by the platen rollers. I also provide between the platen rollers and the supply roll of web, feeding rollers for withdrawing the web from the supply roll and advancing it toward the platen rollers which latter move it in relation to the plate.

By the mechanism of the invention, it is possible to secure the same degree of effectiveness in the wiping and polishing of plates, if the plates are in close abutting relation to each other, as when they are spaced apart, since the feeding of the web is a continuous operation occurring while in engagement with the plate, as well as while it is not so engaged;

Wiping and polishing mechanisms embodying the invention limit the contact area between the wiping and polishing webs to a narrow strip, thus effecting the progressive removal of the ink from a succession of short lengths of plate, the relative simultaneous movement of the wiping cloths and a plate due to the slow travel of the web, as com pared with the angular speed of the plate, limiting the time interval during which ink can be absorbed by the web. That excess ink required to secure an effective packing of the lines in the plate results almost entirely from the piling up or accumulation of the ink, due to the convergence of the curved surfaces of a plate and of the platen roller. Movement of the web at low speed secures the desired wiping action upon the plate, and at the'same time serves to constantly convey the accumulated ink, removed from one portion of the plate, to succeeding portions of the plate, where it may be efiectively utilized in packing the lines.

In this manner, substantial absorption of the ink by the web is avoided without sacrificing the advantage of the presence of ink in quantities sufficient to fill and pack the lines, and likelihood of the web withdrawing ink from the lines after they have been packed. The absorption of a reduced volume of ink by the web permits the application of less ink to the printing plates. This is highly desirable in the economical operation of the machine.

To compensate for possible variation in the operative speeds of different parts of the machine, I preferably impart movement to the platen roll ers by means of a friction drive controlled by the movements of the plate cylinder. By the use of this mechanism, the various mechanisms incidental to the rotation of the platen cylinders may be permitted to have variable speed as a result of slippage in the drive mechanism operative upon each, thus minimizing any tendency to develop excessive irregular stresses which might tend to interfere with the proper conditioning of the wiping and polishing cloths, or cause the breakage thereof in the event that a paper web is used for this purpose.

By using a friction drive for rotating the platen rollers, movement of these rollers toward and from the plate cylinder against spring tension is permitted.

The steel plates used upon rotary steel plate printing machines, frequently have slightly undulatory portions resulting from the bending of the plate, so that by limiting the contact area between the plates and the webs of wiping and polishing material and flexibly supporting the platen rollers, every portion of the plate is subjected to the wiping action of the webs, thus eliminating one of the common causes of streaking or blurring of the imprints due to an incomplete removal of the ink from the top or non-printing surface of the plate.

The invention consists primarily in a rotary steel plate printing machine, embodying therein a plate cylinder, and a wiping mechanism embodying a support for a supply roll of a continuous web of wiping material, a support for a rewind reel, 2. platen rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, whereby a wiping web may be passed from said supply roll about said platen and to said rewind reel, means whereby the web passing said platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, means imparting continuous rotary movement to said platen in the same direction as, but at a relatively lower speed than, the plate, and a rewind mechanism adjacent the support for the rewind reel; and in such other novel features and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. l is a side elevation, partly broken away, showing the plate cylinder polishing mechanisms of a rotary steel plate printing machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a view from the left of Fig. 1 showing only one end of the plate cylinder and its associated mechanisms;

Fig. 3 is a similar view to the right of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1 showing one of the friction drive mechanisms in detail and upon a larger scale.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the accompanying drawings, the plate cylinder is shown at 10. Mounted upon the cylinder are two plates 11 and 12. At one end of the frame 13 of the machine are open bearings 14 affording means whereby a roll 15 of a web of wiping material may be rotatably mounted. The web itself, as it passes through the machine, is shown at 16. Below the bearings 14 are brackets 17 having an elongated slotted bearing for the reception of the arbors of a rewind reel 18. Below said bearings 14, is a friction roller 19, the shaft of which carries a gear 20, enmeshed with a gear 21. The gear 21 is driven by means of a chain and sprocket mechanism 22 receiving its power from a sprocket 23 carried upon the shaft of one of a pair of feed rollers 24. Associated with the feed roller 24 is a co-operating feed roller 25.

Mounted closely adjacent the perimeter of the plate cylinder 10 are two platen rollers 26 and 27 extending from side frame to side frame of the machine. The arbors of these rollers are mounted in bearing blocks 28 slidably mounted in bearings 29 so as to permit movement of each roller radially of the plate cylinder 10. Acting upon and the wiping and each block is a spring 30, the tension of which may be controlled by means of an adjusting mechanism 31. The shafts of the platen rollers are shown at 32 and 33. Intermediate the rollers .26 and 27, and positioned below same, is an idle eeseam guide roller 34 mounted in downwardly presented; openbealringsfifi s'o as-to have atensioning action upon the web l fi between the platenrollers. H

Eaeh -of the iplaten rollers 26 and 2'? is continz uously rotated with a predetermined speed ratio.

with that of the cylinder 10, by a friction .drive mechanism: which will now be described.

Carried by eachshaft 32 and 33 is a worm wheel, that carried by the shaft 32 being shown sat 36 and-that carried by the shaft B'Bbeing shown at 37. Mounted in suitable upper and lower bearings 38 and 89 are worm shafts 40 and 41 enmeshed with the wormwheels 36 and 37. Each of mechanisms is substantially identical with the other, and also-'with the friction drive of the polishing mechanism hereinafter referred to. Hence only o'nesuch mechanism need be described in detail;

; Each of these friction mechanismscomprises a.

stud shaft 46 having mounted thereon a gear 47 enmeshed with a gear 48 carried by the shaitof theplate cylinder '10. Secured'to this gear 47 is a plate 49, through openings in which a plurality 01? pins 50 pass, these pins being: carried by the disk 44. Between the plate 49 and the disk-44 are springs 51 for developing the desired-pres;

sure-engaging relation between the. wheel 42 and the friction disk 44 (to-operating." therewith.

tuds 52 carried by the'friction' disk 44 limit the. compressibilityof the springs .51, (and .also prer clu'de any excessive'tilting of this disk.-

The wormshaft 40 is bothzslidable'and rotat ablei'n its upper and lowerbearings 38,l0ngitudinal movement of the shaft compensating for movement of theplaten roller radially of the. plate cylinder. -The" wormshaftil is also both slidable and rotatable in its upperand lowerlbearings 39 for the same purpose.

Both friction drive mechanismsgoperative uponthe web of wiping material, arezxso constructed as to rotatebothplaten. rollers 26 and. 2'? at sub.- stantially the samespeedi. Identity of speed, however, is not essential so long as there is no great variation betweenvthe'ispeed; of the two platens. In fact; there. is a constant minor'variation in the speed of these twowplaten rollers, but the 'quantity of eachsvariationis negligible and may be compensated forin part by slippage between the friction disk anditsco-operating friction wheel, and in part .by the. intermediate guide roller 34.

It will be obviousthat the usesof a friction" drive permits alimitation of the longitudinal pull exerted upon the web 16. i

' In the machine as shown in the drawingsfiour springs 51, "grouped- 90 apart about the axis of the friction disk, are used so as to minimize variation in the pressure relation between the disk and its co-operating wheel. 4

An extension of the worm shaft 40, beyond the.

lower bearing 38,carries a worm 53 enmeshed witha worm wheel '54 carried'by the-shaft of the-r feed roll 24, thus simultaneously rotatingv'saidfeed roll24 and the platen roll'26. {These rollers, a being'zof the samediameter and being actuated at the same speedthrough the same'mechanism; result in the withdrawal of the web frorn the supply roll '15 and its deliverytoward the platen .roller 26 in a manner to avoidany tendency-of the dragof the-supply: roll and its varying-weight and are preferably provided with a yieldable cover 'to interfere with substantial uniformity in the travel of theweb by the platen rollersfifi and2'7. These platen rollers are also of the same diameter, x

of any desired material with the two-fold object of ensuring the desired feed of the web through 'the machine and permitting compressibility thereof to an extent to avoid toonarrow a line of contactbetween theweb and the plate upon the cylinder 10.

' Adjacent the opposite end of the machine 'to that carrying the bearings 14, are bearings 55 for a supply roll 56 of a polishing web, and below I the bearings 55 are elongated bearings 5? for a rewind reel-58. -Below-the reel 58 is mounted a --friction roller'59, the shaft of which is provided with a sprocket wheel 69 driven by means of a sprocket chain 61, enmeshedwith a sprocket wheel 62, carried by the shaft 63 of a feed roller 64: "Co-operating with the feed roller 64 is a small feed roller 65.

Mounted closely adjacentth perimeter of the plate cylinder 10 is a polishing platen roller 68 extending from side frame to side frame'of the machine. The arbors of this roller are mounted in bearing'blocks 6'? slidably mounted in bearings V 63 so as to permit the movement of the roller radially of the plate cylinder. Acting upon the block'is'a spring 69, the tension of which may be controlled by means of an adjusting mechanism 78. Theshaft of the plateroller is shown at l1.

wiping plate rollers '26 and 27, including a plate 73. Supported from the plate 72 by pins75 and Thispolishing plate roller is continuously rotated by the same type of friction mechanism as the 72 driven from the gear 48 by means 'of a gear spaced therefrom by springs '76 is a friction'disc 74. Thediso T4 is' provided with studs 7! corresponding in number and arrangement with the studs 52. Theplate 72 withits gear '73 is mounted upon a stud shaft 78 carried by the frame of the machine.

Mounted in bearings '19 and 80 is a worm shaft 81 secured to which is a friction wheel 82, cooperating with the friction disc 74. Carried by the shaft 71 is a worm wheel 83 enmeshed with .theworm upon the shaft 81.

By the mechanism immediately above described,

the. polishing platen roller'fifi as shown in Fig. 1 A receives clockwise movement, at a low speed as compared with the angular speed of the cylinder about the polishing platen roller 65 in a direction opposite to that of the movement of the plates upon the plate cylinder as they are being subjected to the action of the polishing web. After passing about the said roller. 66 the web passes about co-operating feed rollers 64 and 65 about the friction roller 59 and the rewind reel 58.

While, in thelwiping. mechanism, the web is withdrawn from the supply roll by a pair of feed ing rollersand delivered by said rollers toward l Elli...

The run 84 from the roll of web 56 passes the wiping. platen rollers, the rollers 64 and 65 rewind. reel- 58. The feed ro1lers64 and 65 are merely take up the run of the web after it leaves :5 the polishing roller 66 and advances it toward the driven by means of a worm wheel-85 mounted upon the strait. 63 which is enmeshed with a worm shaft '86 connected by means of a chain. .andsprocket mechanism 87 with the worm shaft 81.?(Cou11ter shafts 81 and. 86 are used for the actuationof theifeed rollers 64 and 65 to permit variationain the. actuation of. therewind mecha znism in accordance with any variation in the actuation of the polishing roller 66.

Two steel plates 11 and 12 are shown on the cylinder 10 but three or more plates may be used if desired, according to the design of said cylinder.

The operation of the herein described printing machine, as to the wiping and polishing mechanisms therefor, is substantially as follows:

In rotary steel plate printing machines ink is applied to the lines of the intaglio, engraved or undersurface steel plate, and to the top or non-printing surface of the plate. Preparatory to the making of the impression from the plate, it is necessary not only to completely fill the lines of the design upon the plate, which is known as packing such lines, but to remove the ink from the top or non-printing surface of the plate. The ink used for packing the lines is drawn from the supply of ink afforded by the ink deposited upon the top or non-printing surface of the plate. Proper packing of the lines is necessary to avoid ragged lines in an imprint, which ragged lines result in wastage since such imprints cannot be used.

In steel plate printing, ink, much in excess of that required to actually form the imprint, must be applied to the plate, and there is great wastage of this ink by methods employed prior to my in vention due to the inefiective utilization of the excess supply in packing the lines of the design. By limiting the area of contact of the wiping cloths with the plate by utilizing a roller about which the wiping web passes, and by imparting slow movement to each roller in the same direction as the movement of the plate, ink upon the top surface is accumulated at the point of divergence of the wiping web and the curved plate upon the cylinder. This results in a constant tendency, owing to the high speed of the plate as compared with that of the platen roller, to ensure, at all times, ink throughout the entire width of the plate in sufiicient volume to adequately pack the lines upon the plate, particularly in view of the fact that by reason of the rolling contact of the plate and the web upon the platen roller, there is a tendency to force some of this surplus ink within the lines and carry sufiicient ink between the web and the plate to ensure complete filling of all lines irrespective of the directions in which they run. By reason of this and the small contact area between the web and the plate there is a little tendency for the wiping web to draw ink from such lines, particularly as the surface of the plate is moving away from the web instantly that it leaves the area of contact thereof with the web. This tendency of the ink to remain in the lines is due in part to the fact that the portion of the web engaged with the plate is at all times coated with ink, if not partially saturated therewith.

Ihe manner of applying the ink to the plates 87 and 88 and the mechanisms for making impressions, and delivering sheets to and collecting them from the machine, may take any desired or well known form, such mechanisms not being shown or described.

Ink is applied to the plate as the cylinder 10 is turning clockwise as shown in Fig. 1, the inked plates thereafter being brought into operative engagement with the wiping web 16. While the cylinder 10 is turning, the gear 18 carried by the arbor of this cylinder imparts rotary movement to the friction discs 44 and 45, the action of which upon the friction wheels 42 and 43 imparts a slow turning movement to the platen rollers 26 and 27. These rollers are turned in a direction so that the web 16 has movement in the same direction as the plate, but at a lower speed. Consequently, a plate 11 or 12 has rubbing contact with the portions of the web 16 passing about the platen rollers 26 and 27, and succeeding portions of the plate are progressively subjected to fresh portions of the web.

With the movement of the plate in relation to the web, the ink upon the top or non-printing surface of the plate is rubbed along the plate and accumulated in the angle between the web and the plate, in sufficient volume to ensure at all times an excess of ink along the entire width of the plate. Wherever lines occur upon the plate, these lines, irrespective of the direction in which they may run, are completely filled with ink, any lines which have not been previously completely filled receiving sufficient ink from this accumulation to ensure such a complete filling thereof.

The convergence of the surface of the plate and of the wiping web passing around the roller 26 effectively packs the ink with which the lines are thus filled. This convergence also has a tendency to carry the accumulated ink between all portions of the plate and the web 16, excepting the top or non-printing surface of the plate. This also contributes toward a complete filling and packing of the lines and minimizes likelihood of dragging ink from the lines during the wiping operation.

The contact area between the web passing about the roller 26, and the plate, extends from side to side, but for only a short distance cirso that there is no tendency toward the forcing J of the web within the lines due to a continuing pressure relation between the web and the plate after the lines have been completely filled with ink.

By reason of the above conditions, and the undesirability of an excessive accumulation of ink in advance of the initial line of contact between the plate and the wiping web, the quantity of ink applied to the plate by the inking mechanism may be materially'reduced.

After the plate has passed the platen roller 26, substantially all of the ink upon its top or nonprinting surface will have been removed. There may, however, be portions of the plate which have not been completely cleaned, leaving what is known as ink streaks upon this top or nonprinting surface.

The secondary wiping plate roller 27 is employed to complete the wiping action, and the adjustability of the rollers 26 and 27 permits these rollers to be so set that the desired action of each may be controlled. For example, it may be desirable, with some plates, to regulate the action of the portion of the web passing about the platen roller 26 so as to control the quantity of ink which of said springs and therethrough' adjust said blocks to bring and maintain said platen in the desired engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, means imparting continuous rotary movement to said platen, and a rewind mechanism adjacent the support for the rewind reel.

6. A rotary steel plate printing machine, embodying therein a plate cylinder, and a wiping mechanism embodying a support for a supply roll of a continuous web of wiping material, a support for a rewind reel, a plurality of platens, each rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, a guide roller intermediate said platen rollers, whereby a wiping web may be passed from said supply roll about said platens successively and to said rewind reel, bearing blocks for each or" said platens movable radially of said plate cylinder, springs thrusting said blocks towards said cylinder, means independently operative upon the springs acting upon the bearing blocks for each platen to vary the tension of said springs and therethrough to bring and maintain each platen in the desired engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, means imparting continuous rotary movement to said platens, and a rewind mechanism adjacent the support for the rewind reel.

7. A rotary steel plate printing machine, embodying therein a plate cylinder, and a wiping mechanism embodying a support for a supply roll of a continuous web of wiping material, a support for a rewind reel, a platen rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, whereby a wiping web may be passed from said supply roll about said platen and to said rewind reel, means whereby the web passing said platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, a friction disk, co-operating means carried by said plate cylinder and said disk for continuously rotating said disk, a worm wheel carried by said platen, a worm shaft enmeshed therewith, a friction wheel carried by said worm shaft and engaging said friction disk, and a rewind mechanism adjacent the support for the rewind reel.

8. A rotary steel plate printing machine, embodying therein a plate cylinder, and a wiping mechanism embodying a support for a supply roll of a continuous web of wiping material, a support for a rewind reel, a platen rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, whereby a wiping web may be passed from said supply roll about said platen and to said rewind reel, bearing blocks for said platen movable radially of said plate cylinder, springs thrusting said blocks towards said cylinder, means operative to vary the tension of said springs and therethrough adjust said blocks to bring and maintain said platen in the desired engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, a friction disk, co-operating means carried by said plate cylinder and said disk for continuously rotating said disk, a worm wheel carried by said platen, a worm shaft enmeshed therewith, bearings permitting longitudinal movement of said shaft when adjusting said bearing blocks, a friction wheel carried by said worm shaft and engaging said friction disk, and a rewind mechanism adjacent the support for the rewind reel.

9. A rotary steel plate printing machine, embodying therein a plate cylinder, and a wiping mechanism embodying a support for a supply roll of a continuous web of wiping material, a support for a rewind reel, a platen rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, whereby a wiping web may be passed from said supply roll about said platen and to said rewind reel, means whereby the web passing said platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, feed rollers intermediate said platen and said support for the web of wiping material, a friction disk, co-operating means carried by said plate cylinder and said disk for continuously rotating said disk, a worm wheel carried by said platen, a worm wheel carried by one of said feed rollers, a worm shaft enmeshed with both of said worm wheels, a friction wheel carried by said worm shaft and engaging said friction disk, a rewind mechanism, and gearing connecting said feed rollers and said rewind mechanism.

16. A rotary steel plate printing machine, em-

bodying therein a plate cylinder, and a wiping mechanism embodying a support for a supply roll of a continuous web of wiping material, a support for a rewind reel, a plurality of platens, each rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, a guide roller intermediate said platen rollers, whereby a wiping web may be passed from said supply roll about said platens successively and to said rewind reel, means whereby the web passing said platens is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, feed rollers intermediate said platens and said support for the web of wiping material, a plurality of friction disks, cc-operating means carried by said plate cylinder and said disks respectively for continuously rotating said disks, a worm wheel carried by each of said platens and by one of said feed rollers, a worm shaft enmeshed with the worm wheel carried by one of said platens and by said feed roller, a second worm shaft enmeshed with the worm gear carr'ed by said other platen, a friction wheel carried by each of said worm shafts and engaging a friction disk, a rewind mechanism, and gearing connecting said feed rollers and said rewind mechanism.

11. A rotary steel plate printing machine, embodying therein a plate cylinder, and a wiping mechanism embodying a support for a supply roll of a continuous web of wiping material, a support for a rewind reel, a platen rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, whereby a wiping web may be passed from said supply roll about said platen and to said rewind reel, means whereby the web passing said platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, a speed reducing mechanism between said plate cylinder and said platen imparting continuous rotary movement to said platen in a direction to cause the wiping web to have movement with a plate upon said plate cylinder, and a rewind mechanism adjacent the support for the rewind reel.

12. A rotary steel plate printing machine, embodying therein a plate cylinder, and a polishing mechanism embodying a support for a supply roll of a continuous web of polishing material, a support for a rewind reel, a platen rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, whereby a polishing web may be passed from said supply roll about said platen to said rewind reel, means whereby the web passing said platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, means imparting continuous rotary movement to said platen in the same direction as, but at a relatively lower speed than, the plate, and a rewind mechanism adjacent the support for the rewind reel.

13. A rotary steel plate printing machine, em-

bodying therein a plate cylinder, and a polishing mechanism embodying a support for a supply roll of a continuous web of polishing material, a support for a rewind reel, a platen rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, whereby a polishing web may be passed from said supply roll about said platen to said rewind reel, means whereby the web passing said platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, a friction disk, co-operating means carried by said plate cylinder and said disk for continuously rotating said disk, a worm wheel carried by said platen, a worm shaft enmeshed therewith, a friction wheel carried by said worm shaft and engaging said friction disk, and a rewind mechanism adjacent the support for the rewind reel.

14. A rotary steel plate printing machine, embodying therein a plate cylinder, and a polishing mechanism embodying a support for a supply roll of a continuous web of polishing material, a support for a rewind reel, a platen rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, whereby a polishing web may be passed from said supply roll about said platen to said rewind reel, means whereby the web passing said platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, a speed reducing mechanism between said plate cylinder and said platen imparting continuous rotary movement to said platen in a direction to cause said polishing web to have movement counter to that of a plate upon said plate cylinder, and a rewind mechanism adjacent the support for the rewind reel.

15. A rotary steel plate printing machine embodying therein a plate cylinder, having associated therewith a wiping platen and a polishing platen, each platen being rotatable; about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, supports for a supply roll of a continuous web of wiping material and for a supply roll of a continuous web of polishing material, supports for two rewind reels, whereby a wiping web and a polishing web may be passed respectively from its roll about a rotatable platen to a rewind reel, means whereby the web passing about each platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, means imparting continuous rotary movement to said wiping platen in the same direction as, but at a relatively lower speed than, the plate, means imparting continuous rotary movement to said polishing platen in a direction opposite to, but at a relatively lower speed than, the plate, and a rewind mechanism adjacent each support for a rewind reel.

16. A rotary steel plate printing machine embodying therein a plate cylinder, having associated therewith a wiping platen and a polishing platen, each platen being rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, supports for a roll of web of wiping material and for a roll of web of polishing material, supports for two rewind reels, whereby a wiping web and a polishing web may be passed respectively from its roll about a rotatable platen to a rewind reel, means whereby the web passing about each platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, speed reducing mechanisms between said plate cylinder and said wiping platen imparting continuous rotary movement to the latter in a direction to cause a wiping web to have movement with a plate upon said cylinder, and speed reducing mechanisms between said plate cylinder and said polishing platen imparting continuous rotary movement to the latter in a direction to cause a polishing web to have movement counter to that of a plate upon said plate cylinder, and a rewind mechanism adjacent each support for a rewind reel.

17. A rotary steel plate printing machine, embodying therein a plate cylinder, having associated therewith two wiping platens and a polishing platen, each platen being rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, a guide roller intermediate said wiping platens, supports for a supply roll of a continuous web of wiping material and for a supply roll of a continuous web of polishing material, supports for two rewind reels, a wiping web being passed from its roll, about said wiping platens and said intermediate guide roller to a rewind reel, and a polishing web being passed from its roll, about said polishing platen to a rewind reel, means wherebythe web passing about each platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, means imparting continuous rotary movement to said wiping platens in the same direction as, but at a relatively lower speed than, the plate, means imparting continuous rotary movement to said polishing platen in a direction opposite to, but at a relatively lower speed than, the plate, and a rewind mechanism adjacent each support for a rewind reel.

18. A rotary steel plate printing machine, embodying therein a plate cylinder, having associated therewith two wiping platens and a polishing platen, each platen being rotatable about an axis substantially parallel with the axis of said plate cylinder, a guide roller intermediate said wiping platens, supports for a supply roll of a continuous web of wiping material and for a supply roll of a continuous web of polishing material, supports for two rewind reels, a wiping web being passed from its roll, about said wiping platens and said intermediate guide roller to a rewind reel, and a polishing web being passed from its roll, about said polishing platen to a rewind reel, feed rollers between said wiping web support and said wiping platen, means whereby the web passing about each platen is maintained in engaging relation with a plate upon said cylinder, means imparting continuous rotary movement to said wiping platens in the same direction as, but at a relatively lower speed than, the plate, means imparting continuous rotary movement to said polishing platen in a direction opposite to, but at a rela- 1 tively lower speed than, the plate, a rewind mechanism adjacent each support for a rewind reel, feed rollers between said polishing platen and the rewind reel for the polishing web, and means whereby said feed rollers respectively are actuated at the same speed as said platens.

PETER AITCHISON. 

